A/N: Hello everybody, I'm back with the next chapter! Woo hoo! I'd just like to say thank you to all of you who have reviewed at anytime in this story and happy holidays!
Labeled 'Bad'
Chapter 8: Rebuilding
"Now Raven, when the realization first hit you, what were your first thoughts?" Dr. Braddock inquired.
"I'm not really sure, I've had so much time to dwell on what's happened that I'm not actually really sure where it all started," Raven said, words now spilling out of her mouth trying to make up for the two days they weren't there.
"Could you try to remember what those first thoughts were?"
Raven nodded and then sat in tried to think. The room was silent except for the small humming noise coming from the lights. It stayed like this for what seemed like an eternity. When Raven broke the silence, she had quite an impressive answer.
"I think those thoughts first started when I was in Rich's car on the drive home, because I didn't just suddenly start thinking about them. When I broke down at school, it wasn't the first time I had been thinking about what had happened. It was just when realization of how big it was that… well, it can almost be compared to being star struck. It was like time was in a stand still and then the dam keeping the bulk of the thoughts out of my mind broke and all hell broke loose," Raven said.
"Raven, you seem to be taking my job. You're beginning to find the core to this problem and how to help rebuild yourself. Thoughts and realizations like this are very promising and are going to help you ease the fear that some girls are always stuck with after they are raped," Dr. Braddock said, "Oh my goodness! It's been an hour and a half. Well Raven, I think that this session has been good for you. I would like for you to come back for some more, if that's alright with you."
"I'm going to, I didn't like the feelings I had these past few days, it was pure torture and those feelings are beginning to ease away," Raven said.
Raven and Dr. Braddock walked out of the room. Nanu was sitting in the waiting room half asleep.
"Oh, Raven! How'd everything go?" Nanu inquired.
"She's doing wonderful. Raven's the most promising girl I've seen come through these doors in a long time," Dr. Braddock said.
"That's fantastic! Raven, why don't you go wait in the car, I've just got to ask Dr. Braddock a few questions," Nanu said.
"Alright," Raven said rolling her eyes. Nanu was still treating her like a little girl after all these years. Raven took the keys and walked out of the clinic and went to the car.
"When do you think Raven will be ready to go back to school? Her father is very concerned that the school might say that she's missed too many days and that she'll have to go to summer school or even repeat the year," Nanu asked.
"Well, based on the progress she's made today and depending on how well she does when she comes again, assuming that's alright with your family, she could be going back to school in a few days or a few weeks. It all really depends, but I must insist that if you want her to go back to school sooner that you continue with these sessions. Not necessarily with me, but with any psychiatrist at all," Dr. Braddock answered.
"Well, if Raven's made a lot of progress here, we might as well continue that instead of starting over," Nanu said.
"Do you have any other questions?" Dr. Braddock inquired.
"Actually, do you think that it'd be okay if her boyfriend came to see her? Or should we hold off a little more?"
"Raven told me all about Rich; he seems like the kind of guy you can trust. I wouldn't suggest allowing him to come visit today, but in a day or two, she might feel secure enough. But it's really up to her. And once again, it also depends on what kind of progress we make in the next session or two," Dr. Braddock said.
"One more thing, if something were to happen, like Raven stopped talking again or something, should we call you?" Nanu asked.
"That would probably be a good idea. Negative progress is never good," Dr. Braddock said.
"Alright, thank you very much. Oh, when would you like me to bring Raven back?" Nanu asked.
"Is tomorrow good? I've got the entire afternoon open," Dr. Braddock said.
"Alright, we'll see you tomorrow at one pm," Nanu said.
"Sounds good, see you tomorrow."
Climbing into the passenger's seat of the car, Nanu announced to Raven that they were coming back the next afternoon.
"Can I drive myself?" Raven asked.
"Promise not to drive off the road?" Nanu asked, completely serious.
"Yes," Raven said, rolling her eyes again.
"Then I suppose so…" Nanu replied.
"Okay, I'm going to Burger King for lunch, I'm starving, do you want anything?" Raven asked.
"No thank you, seeing you eat is filling enough," Nanu said.
"Please don't say anything else like that ever again, I will go crazy if everyone says those corny lines," Raven said.
"Okay, but you might want to accept at least a few from your father, he's been really worried. He wasn't slept a wink in the last few nights," Nanu said.
"Oh dear, well, maybe he'll sleep easy now knowing that I'm eating, talking, and making a speedy mental recovery," Raven said, "Can I get a number 7 with a strawberry banana Icee?"
The drive home was mainly silent because Raven was eating, but when she finished she started a new conversation.
"Can Rich come by after school today?" Raven asked.
"I don't think so, Dr. Braddock said that it might not be good and that you could have negative progress if you're not completely ready," Nanu said.
"Please?" Raven inquired, turning to Nanu with her best puppy dog eyes ever.
"Okay, but you've got to rest and find a way to prove to me that you're mentally stable enough. But if things go wrong, not only do I get to say 'I told you so' but you have to make it up to me somehow," Nanu said.
"Deal," Raven replied.
Upon arriving home, Raven went and laid on the couch to take a nap and she watched Batman at two o'clock. At 4 o'clock after she had talked to Damian who had gotten dropped off from basketball practice (it's almost Valentines Day now, even though it doesn't seem like it.)
"Hello, Wayne-Grayson family," Ryan said, answering the phone.
"Hi, could I talk to Rich?" Raven asked, trying to disguise her voice so Ryan wouldn't recognize it was her.
"May I ask who's speaking?" Ryan inquired, smiling on the other end of the line, knowing it was Raven he was talking to.
"This is Raven, Ryan, can I please talk to Rich?" Raven asked.
"I don't know, why would you want to talk to that los… oh, hey Rich!" Ryan said. Then Raven heard someone get punched and then Rich spoke.
"Hey Raven! It's so good to hear from you!" Rich said.
"Hi Rich, how are you?" Raven asked.
"It doesn't matter, how are you?" Rich asked.
"Apparently I'm doing much better. Everyone here is excited that I started talking and eating again today," Raven replied.
"That's good, wait! You haven't been talking or eating? How long had that been going on!" Rich asked, in horror that Raven was going to get sick.
"Um, since I told the nurse that I wanted to go home at school however many days ago that was…" Raven replied.
"Oh, wow. Well, I'm glad you're talking again. But listen, I'm sorry for whatever it is that I did to make you so upset," Rich said.
"Oh, Rich, you didn't do anything wrong! Actually, you did the complete opposite! You rescued me, doing the ultimate right," Raven said.
"So what was the whole break down about?" Rich asked.
"Um, why don't I explain that to you in person? I don't feel comfortable talking about it over the phone, especially when there's a chance Ryan can be listening in," Raven said.
"Oh, no need to worry about that, he's on the floor still rolling in pain. I punched him pretty hard in the stomach," Rich replied.
"Okay, but do you want to come over in a little bit? I want to see you," Raven said.
"Are you sure that's okay? I don't want anything to happen that could completely ruin any progress you've made," Rich said.
"It's okay, I'm rebuilding my mental stability much faster than any person my shrink has seen in a long time. Besides, I can sacrifice some negative progress just so I can see you," Raven said.
"I don't know, I'd rather not do that to you. I want things to progress as fast as possible rather than have to go back and do things over again," Rich said.
"It's okay, I really want to see you!" Raven said.
"No, I think it's better if I wait until your shrink says it's okay," Rich said, "besides, it'll make our reunion so much sweeter."
"You and your romantic flare," Raven commented, "I guess you're right. But you've got to promise that you'll keep your promise and when I am allowed to see you that it's sweeter than it would be today," Raven said.
"I promise Raven, I promise," Rich said, "Are you going to be coming to school tomorrow?"
"No, I can't, the shrink said that it'd be best to just wait a little longer. But small visits from friends are still okay!" Raven told him, still trying to convince him to come over.
They talked for a little while longer, and then Raven had to go because dinner was ready and Nanu was going to have Raven eat before something were to change her mind.
"Rich, I've got to go," Raven said giggling at his attempts to keep her on the phone.
"Alright, but call me when you're done eating," Rich said.
"Okay, I will. I love you," Raven said, hanging up the phone before he got a chance to say anything else.
She put the phone back in the charger and then was about to get up and go downstairs when the phone rang. Raven looked at the caller ID to learn that Rich had called her back.
"I love you too Raven. I love you more than you can ever believe. I'm never going to let you go again. Never in my entire life," Rich said, and then he hung up before Raven got a chance to reply.
Raven put the phone in the charger and then actually made it downstairs. She sat down at the dinner table in her usual spot, her family all with subtle smiles playing across their features because they were so delighted by her presence.
"What, I'm hungry!" Raven said cheerfully
Trenton put a large plate with four stakes on it in the middle of the table and then everybody took one. They all cut into their food and while everyone savored the first bite the only noises heard were the ones of chewing.
"So, who was on the phone?" Trenton asked.
"Rich," Raven replied simply.
"You two usually talk for at least twenty minutes on the phone, even when dinner is ready. Why didn't it take that long this time?" Damian asked.
"Because we had been talking for about an hour and a half before that and then after we hung up he called me because he needed to tell me something," Raven said.
"Oh yeah, what did he need to tell you?" Trenton asked.
"You don't need to know that, let Raven have some sort of a private life!" Nanu exclaimed.
"Thank you Nanu," Raven said.
"So how did things go at the clinic?" Trenton inquired.
"They went well," Raven replied.
"Well, that's obviously, last night you wouldn't even utter a 'yes' or 'no' and now you won't shut up," Damian joked.
"Well, I like the change. I love having my daughter back, but there are going to be some new rules for a while now just because I want to make sure I never loose you again," Trenton said.
"New rules like what?" Raven asked.
"I really don't know yet, it just seemed like the right thing to say," Trenton answered truthfully.
"Wow Dad, you might want to plan ahead next time," Damian said shaking his head.
"So, you're going back to the shrink tomorrow at one pm Raven, so you've got to be up by at least eleven," Nanu said.
"Daddy, Nanu's busy during the day, so I've got nobody to talk to. Can Damian stay home with me tomorrow?" Raven asked, giving her little brother a wink.
"No, he still has to go to school," Trenton said.
"Oh, please Dad?" Damian asked.
"No, and that's it, and if I hear one more thing about it, you're going to be staying home this weekend," Trenton said.
"Okay," Damian said, knowing better than to argue with his dad.
"So, who wants to share their day with us?" Trenton asked.
The rest of the night went well, they all gathered together to watch TV together and then they did their own things before going to bed. Raven had called Rich back after dinner and they talked for a while about everything that came to mind.
The next morning, Raven was up at ten o'clock hungry as ever. Nanu was surprised to see Raven up that 'early.'
"You're up early," Nanu said.
"Well, I've slept about a week's worth of night's sleep in the last few days I was really all that tired," Raven said.
"I see, well, I wasn't expecting you to wake up for another hour so why don't you go get in the shower and I'll make you some breakfast," Nanu said.
"Alright," Raven replied, so she went back up the stairs and got into the shower. She decided that it was time for a nice, long, steamy shower. So she got in, turned the water's temperature up higher than normal and then she climbed in and enjoyed every second of the warm water's contact with her skin. At 10:30 she got out of the shower, got dressed, then went downstairs to eat her breakfast.
At 11:30, Raven backed out of the drive way and drove herself to the clinic for her appointment. She parked and got out and walked into the building with about ten minutes to spare. She checked in and then went to sit down. Before she could even pick up a magazine, Raven was called back to talk to Dr. Braddock.
"Hello Raven, how are you today?" Dr. Braddock asked.
"I'm doing pretty well. I've actually eaten every meal available and according to my little brother, I haven't shut up," Raven said.
"Well, that's good," Dr. Braddock said with a chuckle.
"I talked to Rich yesterday," Raven said.
"What did you talk about?" Dr. Braddock asked.
"Not much really, we were just catching up with each other. But he punched his twin brother out so that he could get the phone from him," Raven giggled.
"I see, I'm guessing he missed you… a lot. But, is there anything you'd like to talk about?"
"Not that I can think of that you'd care about, just obnoxious teenage girl stuff. OH MY GOD! I definitely need to call Dakota! I haven't talked to her in almost a week! She's probably worried sick! Or thinks I'm mad at her!" Raven exclaimed.
"Who's Dakota?" Dr. Braddock asked.
"She's my best friend, after Dick –er- Rich and I haven't talked to her since the day after I was raped," Raven said, still mad at herself for not remembering.
"Alright, well, I don't think there's much that you can do here. So, why don't you sit back and I'll ask you a few questions," Dr. Braddock said.
"Alright," Raven said, somewhat grumpily.
"Okay, now yesterday you said that you weren't swept over with the thoughts about what happened all of a sudden, but that they really had been there since you got into the car immediately after getting out of the warehouse. That's a very important thing that you realized, but what I need you to do is go one step further and find a way to try to stop that flow of thoughts or to block out the emotional aspect of those thoughts and feelings. I don't need you to do that just yet, actually, not for a while. It's what I want you to eventually accomplish. If you can do that, than you won't have very many problems in life dealing with the rape," Dr. Braddock said.
"I see, I think that I could manage that. But do you have any suggestions?" Raven asked.
"Actually, I do. You could simply try to think about something else every time those thoughts come back until you ultimately stop thinking about them. For example, was the phone conversation you had with Rich last night a pleasant one?" Dr. Braddock inquired.
"Yes, much more that just pleasant," Raven said, smiling to herself.
"Alright, well for now, every time you start to dwell on your rape, think back to that conversation. Try to recall every last detail to it, down to how often there were pauses in the discussion or if there were any at all. Concentrating on remembering small details and things like that will take the parts of your brain still focusing on the rape and force them to try to recall things," Dr. Braddock said.
"What if I eventually remember every last detail and I still am thinking about the rape?" Raven asked.
"Well, have you watched TV lately?" Dr. Braddock questioned.
"After I took a nap yesterday I watched and episode of Batman," Raven replied.
"Well then, think back to the episode, what was your favorite part about it? What villain was Batman fighting? Was Robin in that episode? What was the title of the episode? Ask all of those questions and try to figure out every detail of that too. If you're still thinking about it, go through everything in your memory until you run out which is highly impossible because there is only so much space you can have in your brain," Dr. Braddock said.
"I see, has this worked for other people?" Raven asked.
"Countless," Dr. Braddock replied.
"Alright, I guess it's worth a try. Nanu said yesterday that it probably wouldn't be best if I had Rich over or went to see him. Can I do that today?" Raven asked.
"Well, you seem to be acting like you used to, or how I think you used to, because I've only known you since yesterday, but depending on how things go here today, you might be able to," Dr. Braddock replied.
"Alright! So, any questions you'd like to ask me?"
"Well, now that you mention it, there are a few," Dr. Braddock said, "While you were being raped, was Mr. Tlaski saying anything to you?"
"Mainly, he was just instructing and narrating the whole thing. But other than that, he was really just trying to install fear into me. And it was working," Raven said.
"Alright, why don't you take a minute to try to clear the thoughts from your head and then we'll continue," Dr. Braddock suggested.
"Alright done, I'm a fast learner," Raven said.
"Either that, or you've just thought of something that makes you very jovial," Dr. Braddock said, "Every time you mention something about your phone conversation with Richard, you smile, what is that?"
Raven smiled again and then gave Dr. Braddock her answer. "Last night, Rich said word for word 'I love you too Raven. I love you more than you can ever believe. I'm never going to let you go again. Never in my entire life.'"
"Well now I see why you're so happy. With a supportive boyfriend like that, there is no reason why you shouldn't be happy. That is very good news," Dr. Braddock said.
"I know," Raven replied.
"Now, I've got one last question for you before our time is up. Imagine if Richard were to be here right now. Would you feel safe in his arms?" Dr. Braddock asked, "I want you to think long and hard about this. You can easily say yes, but that might not be true. Would you feel safe having another man wrap his arms around you?"
"If it were Rich, than yes I would, when he's got his arms around me, I always feel safe, no matter what. He's got a protective air around him whenever I'm around. When Rich is around, I feel safe," Raven said.
"Than I say you're mentally stable enough to go see him today," Dr. Braddock said, making Raven absolutely delighted.
"I want to meet with you again, but I want you to bring Rich with you next time so we can either schedule that for tomorrow, Thursday, or Friday around four o'clock or anytime on Saturday."
"Um, can I talk to him after school today and then call you back?" Raven asked.
"Of course, I'll be waiting for your call Raven. I'm here until six," Dr. Braddock replied as Raven walked out.
Raven got into the car and called Nanu.
"Hello Raven, what's the news?" Nanu inquired.
"Dr. Braddock said that I can see Rich today!" Raven squealed into her cell phone.
"That's great news!" Nanu exclaimed.
"And she wants me to bring him with me to the next appointment I have," Raven said.
"That seems like good news. You'll probably be going back to school soon!" Nanu said.
"Yeah, probably, but I actually want to go back, I miss foreign human contact," Raven said.
"Alright, well I'll see you when you get home. Are you going to stop and get something for lunch or do you want me to make you something?" Nanu inquired.
"Could you have a grilled cheese sandwich or two made for me by the time I get home?" Raven asked.
"Of course I can child, drive safe," Nanu said, and then hung up the phone.
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A/N: So, who's happy that I got another chapter up so soon compared to last time? Raise your hand, anybody, please? I'll give you a cookie! Any way, hope you liked it. Special thanks to everyone who's reviewed, the chapters are so messed up it's impossible to figure out who reviewed for what and when. But thank you to everybody. I'll write down the people who review for this chapter this time and I'll thank you in the next chapter. Bye for now, and once again, Happy Holidays!